A THIRTEENTH CENTURY SEAL OF ROGER DE CARSINGTON. I 7 1 



By her he had seven daughters and, by a second marriage, two 

 sons. He died in 1254, and was succeeded by his elder son 

 Robert, the last of the Ferrers, Earls of Derby. Meanwhile, 

 in 1 245, Anselm Marshall, Earl of Pembroke, died without issue, 

 and the seven sisters of Earl Robert were amongst the numerous 

 co-heirs to the earldom and estates of Pembroke. Henry III., 

 however, retained the Castle of Haverfordwest in his own hands, 

 and during the civil wars of Simon de Montfort, together with 

 its neighbour, the great Castle of Pembroke, it became the 

 centre of the Royal defence against both the Barons and the 

 Welsh. Henry entrusted it to his half-brother William de 

 Valence who, through his wife, was another co-heir to the earl- 

 dom, and to which he eventually succeeded. In 1263, Earl 

 Ferrers raised his Derbyshire retainers, including, no doubt, 

 Roger de Carsington, who was certainly a contemporary, and 

 joined the Barons in the sack of Worcester, suffering in return 

 the demolition of his own Castle of Tutbury ; thence, in the 

 following year he took part in the defeat of the King's forces 

 at the battle of Lewes. William de Valence was exiled from 

 the country, and Gilbert de Clare, Earl of Gloucester, another 

 of the Marshall co-heirs, received the Castle of Haverfordwest 

 and the custody of Pembroke, being made virtually lord para- 

 mount of all South Wales. But, immediately afterwards, he 

 and Earl Ferrers conspired against Simon de Montfort, and 

 Ferrers, whilst still ostensibly allied to Montfort, advanced 

 his army into the heart of Wales. It was probably now that 

 he executed that remarkable deed by which he transferred 

 the whole of his feudal possessions, including the " Wapentake 

 of Wirksworth and Ashbourne " and the suit and service of 

 his vassals — of whom one was de Carsington — to his ally, the 

 Earl of Gloucester. This would be to provide against possible 

 failure on his own part, when, he trusted, his more powerful 

 colleague might be able to preserve his possessions from 

 escheat and retain the service of his followers. It may even 

 have been when he already knew that Earl Simon was too 

 strong for him, for he was arrested and thrown into prison. 



